Going Through Changes

There are times in everyone’s lives when we go through changes and transitions. Sometimes these changes leave us all alone in a new or unfamiliar environment. Sometimes we adapt to our situations quickly, other times we are left in a state of loneliness or depression. Loneliness in life is a very hard thing to avoid, and we must face it at some point in our life. I personally had this experience in my own life. I once had a group of friends that I had been with for years, we would spend time together in school and out of school. I had been friends with two of them since elementary school so I had known them for many years. Around the beginning of freshman year I had noticed that they were not the best people to be around. They did not respect and I realized that they were heading down a different path in life than I was, so I stopped being around them completely. I literally just stopped meeting up with them, I had known that I could have better friends and now that I was in a new environment, I had the chance to find new and better friends. I confirmed that they weren’t good friends when they didn’t really go looking for me when I was gone.

During this time, I started making new friends in my classes. For a while though, I had no close friends and felt alienated. I had no one to spend my lunch time with, it was this time where I felt truly alone. It didn’t last long as I found my current best friends and started hanging out with them during lunch and shared classes with them. I had seen my old friends around and would say hi if I passed by but nothing more. I’m glad that I stopped hanging around them and do not regret my decision. This decision has had major impact on who I am today and I feel that it’s much harder for me to get close to people because of my past friendships. I still look back to that time and now I realize that my decision has had a major impact as I’ve seen who my former friends have become and I’m glad I stopped hanging around them because they would have influenced me negatively. Although I was extremely lonely during that time, I developed a sense of individuality which I still have today, I don’t let anybody influence my interests and I don’t live by anyone’s standards except my own. I also learned to enjoy solitude in that time. I make solitude a part of my life because of this experience and have no problem being alone in any situation. I feel that this experience has changed me in some positive and negative ways, I have a hard time getting close to people but I am now stronger as an individual. Sometimes I wonder what things would’ve been like if I were in different circumstances but I wouldn’t change the past as it has shaped who I am today. I now also can relate to those who feel lonely and understand that it is not necessarily a pleasant feeling. The main lesson I got from this experience is that loneliness is part of life and it will be experience during major transitions in life, but it is up to us to decide how long we stay lonely.

Just a Thought I Have Once in a While

Sometimes when I’m walking somewhere or have the time to think, I always have the thought of what it would be like if I were born in another country cross my mind. I would always place myself in different countries and imagine what my life would be like. I wonder how different I would be if I were born into a different culture, would I be more social or antisocial, more friendly or more introverted, would I have a better or worse education, what kind of friends would I have? All these thoughts cross my mind. Obviously it would depend on where I was, I always imagine myself in first world countries, but what if I was born in a third world country. Would I still be alive today if were born in a third world country? Probably not, although I’m fairly healthy today, I was near death when I was born and had some minor health issues when I was younger. Even still, life in a third world country is harder, so even if I survived birth, I could die from sickness easily. Life in a third world country would definitely be very different, especially with the lack of technology and opportunity. I was born and have lived in the states for my whole life, so I have no idea what anything is like outside my country. I have never been to another country, sadly, but I want to change that the first chance I get. I would imagine what life in Europe would be like, from what I know, most people there are bilingual or know several languages because of the diversity of the population in the continent. They most likely know the language of their neighboring country or the language that their relatives who live in other countries speak. I only know one language fluently, English of course, I did take 2 years of Spanish but I can’t say that I can speak fluently, actually I can barely speak Spanish.

I also wonder what life is like in Asian countries, their cultures differ so much from western cultures and would be far more different to me than European cultures. I have an interest in Japanese culture so I am a bit more familiar with their customs but many other countries in Asia would be unfamiliar to me culturally. This thought of being born in a different country has entertained me many times when I was bored. I am interested in exploring other countries and their cultures. Actually I really want to see other cultures, they would be valuable life experiences and would help connect to other humans in a different way than how I connect to those of my own culture. Even though I’m interested in exploring these other cultures, I am content with living in The United States. Even though I’m not too interested in mainstream culture, there are so many great subcultures. Since I am unable to leave my country because I’m young and lack money, I have many different subcultures in America to explore. I can even get a taste of foreign cultures thanks to the many immigrants living in America. It really excites me to know that the world is such an interesting place and there’s so much to experience, in our day and age it is also realistic to see all these different place too if you can put your mind to it. Although I’ll never know what it would be like to be born elsewhere, I can still learn about all these cultures and experience by going there.

How I Lost $10

It was a regular Sunday, but it wasn’t, it was Super Bowl Sunday. Today was the day that the Seahawks were supposed to win, there was a lot on the line, my $10. I had bet against my friend that the champions of last year, the Seattle Seahawks, are going to become the champions of this year. Normally, I don’t really care about sports, it didn’t really matter who won. The Super Bowl was just a cool game that I went to my uncle’s house to watch and eat lots of snacks and pizza. But this year I actually cared about the result. The beginning of the game had me a little worried, the Patriots were up by 7 points, but the game had just begun so there is still a good chance that my team could catch up and win. I soon became confident in my team again when I recalled last year’s humiliation of the Colts. I soon had a grin on my face when I saw that the Seahawks just scored, 7-7, I knew the game was over now.

I was confident that from this point on, the Seahawks would destroy the Patriots. Those cheater didn’t stand a chance, they were finished. I could tell by how aggressive the Seahawks were playing, they were going to win, which meant $10 for me. My friend sat next to me, I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought that he still thought the Patriots could win. The game continues, The score is now 14-14, I know that the Seahawks are now just holding back. They’re just showing mercy to the Patriots because the game has already been decided and it would be boring if they completely destroyed them. Then it had begun, the score was now 17-14, the Seahawks were up, it was time for the Patriots to lose. A few commercials and a bathroom break later, the score was now 24-14, it was over. I smirked at my friend because I knew the $10 was mine. But the his reaction was different from what I had expected, he still had hope. I could only think of how foolish he was to hold on to this false hope, it was inevitable that I had already won. In my confidence of my mine and the Seahawk’s victory, I started to go on my phone and do other things, or just pay attention to the commercials, which were inferior to last year’s. The next time I check the score is because I can hear all the yelling from the other room, I knew something was happening. I check the score and to my horror, the Patriots had somehow caught up and took the lead. 24-27, the Patriots were up by 3 points and about a minute was left. My friend was the one smirking this time, he knew he had won. I refused this false reality, the Seahawks had to win, they let the Patriots take the lead just to make their victory more dramatic. They were still in control. I confirmed my thoughts when the Seahawks made an extremely skilled catch and a well planned play that brought them to the 1 yard line. This is it, I had the victory. I won and it was visible on my face.

I love winning was my final thought when suddenly………… the worst possible thing happened. I still refuse to believe this could occur, the chances of it occurring was so low. The Seahawks were on 1 yard away, but they decided to throw the ball anyways. Somehow, the Patriots intercepted the ball. Why would Coach Carroll make this horrible decision? They should have won and could have if they decided to run. 20 seconds left and I knew it was over, the Seahawks nearly get into a fight with the Patriots, there is pushing and shoving between them, I am nearly as pissed off as the Seahawks. I wanted to punch my friend right in his smug face, but I have control of myself and must accept this shameful defeat. The game ended, the Seattle Seahawks had lost to the New England Patriots. Honoring my bet, I gave my friend the $10, it was over and I lost. I, who was so confident in victory, admit defeat. It may have been a stupid preventable defeat, but a loss is a loss. This blog post is for those who also believed in the Seahawks and have to deal with same losses that I did, maybe even worse for all those big betters out there. May you win your bet on next year’s Super Bowl.

My Reflection of 2014

Everyday we grow and learn a little more. No matter what age you are, you still learn new things everyday. Even if you feel like nothing happened that day, there is a lesson hidden in it and its up to you to reflect and discover what you learned from the experience. For me, 2014 was a year of growth and another step towards maturity that brings me closer to becoming an adult.

Having Self Respect

Everyone should have self respect for themselves no matter who they are. Self respect is important to having confidence and integrity. Having self respect allows you to view yourself in a positive and healthy way. No matter who you are, you should always have respect and love for yourself. Even if you do think low of yourself (which you shouldn’t), you should realize the value that you have. Here are some reasons you have value, there is someone out there somewhere who loves you and will miss you if you were gone. Another reason is that you always have potential to be something, you are alive and have time to improve yourself in anyway you please. You also have the ability to help others and create new relationships with others. To have self respect you need to value yourself, no matter what happens you should always continue to respect yourself and realize you have value.

To maintain self respect you must keep your integrity. Most think that integrity is following the rules but integrity is really doing what you think is right no matter the rules. Integrity is important to having self respect because how can you even respect yourself when you can’t do what you think is right. To gain self respect you must get to know yourself better, it becomes easier to have respect for yourself when you know more about who you are. Having self respect allows you to take criticism from others, you will be able to handle it and possibly even use it to improve your character. With self respect you can really look at yourself and not be afraid of who you are, you have self acceptance. I believe that it is important for everyone to have self respect and value, and if anyone says that they’re useless or worthless, you tell them that they are dead wrong and explain how valuable they really are. Everyone is valuable.

Dreaming

At first, I was walking on the beach, then the next thing I knew I was in front of a bookshelf. The bookshelf looked ancient and was filled with great books, I saw a pouch with something important in it, I just felt that the pouch had value, but I could not look inside it. That was a dream I had a while ago but I still can remember it, actually most dreams that I wrote down on paper are still in my memory. I find dreaming very interesting, for thousands of years humans have tried to interpret dreams in different ways. Dreams have changed the history of mankind, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted the whole Roman Empire to Christianity after what he interpreted as a dream from God, which in turn lead to Christianity becoming the major religion of the west. Today, we use psychology and science to interpret dreams and believe that the dreams are connected to the unconscious mind. Dreams can be both interpreted spiritually or scientifically and could be a considered a sign or can tell about your desires and fears.

I think I’m mainly interested in dreaming because no matter what, we have dreams whether we want to or not. It’s something that happens every night for everyone, something all humans have in common. As I have stated in a previous post that you may or may not have read, the reason I like to record my dreams and keep track of them is because I am interested in lucid dreaming. In case you don’t know what a lucid dream is, it is a dream where you become aware that you’re dreaming and can take control of the dream. To me, this sounds like an extremely fun concept and although I have never actually had one I still will try, from what I’ve read on the internet, those who have claimed to achieve this dream have recalled it as one of a kind experience. Although technically lucid dreaming is only a theoretical concept, I believe that it is possible.

Based on several articles and guides I’ve read on the internet, there are several methods to lucid dream. The first step to all of them is to have a dream journal and record all your dreams. Having a dream journal in general can be fun and interesting, it’s pretty cool to read your dreams from a while back. Dreaming occurs during REM sleep, REM stands for rapid eye movement and is a time during your sleep where brain activity is high and is similar to when you’re awake. This is the time when you can lucid dream, some methods for starting to attempt lucid dreams are recognizing common reoccurring  elements in your dreams. This is the reason why you need to have a dream journal, you can see a reoccurring element if you’re descriptions of the dream are detailed enough. For me, a reoccurring element is a cloudy sky because that is my favorite weather. Continuing the list of methods is to ask yourself if you are dreaming every hour or so during your day, eventually when this becomes a habit you will start doing this in your dreams and you’ll realize you’re in a dream. There is a technique called the MILD technique, it involves waking 4 1/2, 6, or 7 1/2 hours after you sleep, then remembering your dream as much as possible, which should be easy if you write in you’ve been recording your dreams because your dream recall would be excellent, then going back to sleep and imagining yourself in your previous dream and becoming aware that you are in this dream. Once aware that you in a dream, you can take control of it and make it whatever you want it to be. There are many other methods to lucid dreaming, so it is important to try new ones until you find one that really works, using multiple methods increases your chances of lucid dreaming. Some people learn to lucid dream to avoid night terrors, but others do it for because its interesting or fun. Lucid dreaming and having a dream journal in general can be a fun activity that doesn’t take too much time and can be done for a very long time. I highly recommend keeping a dream journal at least for anyone because it can be entertaining and writing everyday has its benefits as I’ve written in a previous post. I also think that you should at least try researching a little on lucid dreaming to see if it’s something you’d want to try. I still dream of one day achieving my goal of having a lucid dream because I want to see what it’s like to have this unique experience.

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/lucid-dreaming-techniques.html

A link to a website with a list of methods for lucid dreaming.

Why You Should Write Everyday

Writing ever can be very beneficial to you and has many uses outside of a classroom. Now I’m not talking about act of writing, but putting down your thoughts, opinions, and even just daily events on a piece of paper. I’m going to list off a few reasons why writing, even for just a few minutes everyday, can have positive effects. Although once you really get into your writing, it’ll be much more than a few minutes. I’m going to list off a few reasons why here.

1. It gets your Brain Going

Having trouble trying to get your brain started when it come to things like school work or being productive? Well even if you don’t, when you start your day off by writing something, it helps get your mind thinking and focused so you can bust out that work in no time. Almost like caffeine except it’s not a drug.

2. It Helps You Get All Your Thoughts Out of Your Head and Onto Paper

Ever have a good idea or thought? Well maybe putting it on a piece of paper will help you save it. Also just writing out your thoughts on paper helps you just get them out. Writing in the morning is a good time to do this, as you release a flood of your first thoughts of the day. Sometimes, your most creative thought are those raw ones you get in the morning when you’re too tired to edit them consciously.

3. Recalling Dreams

Okay, this really works. I’ve used this method myself to recall my dreams. Writing what you remember from your dreams helps you recall them better. So you’re thinking, what if I don’t even remember dreams, well you start off by writing I couldn’t remember anything. Just by acknowledging that you are attempting to recall your dream and want to write it on paper pretty much tells your brain to remember your dreams. You also may wonder why I’ve tried to record my dreams, well I have an interest and fascination with the idea of lucid dreaming, when you are aware that you are dreaming and can even control your dream. Although I have never experienced this phenomenon myself, I really want to experience it. You can just look it up and read more yourself if you’re curious but I need to continue the list. (This does give me an idea to write an article on the subject though.)

4. Writing Can Be Quite Relaxing and Stress Relieving

Writing can be a leisure activity, and after you start trying to do it everyday, you may find it relaxing. Personally, I think writing can be pretty fun, I do a decent amount of writing everyday but I think I can do more. Writing should be something that is enjoyed, you can write  about anything and everything you want. It is also really fun to read your own writing from the past, especially if you’ve been writing for a while.

5. It Helps Maintain and Increase Your Vocabulary

By writing everyday, you are using your vocabulary and all the words you are familiar with which is good, but it can also help you expand your vocabulary. In order to do this you need to challenge yourself and use larger word than you’re used to. Where to find new words? Well if you’re a reader, reading more advanced reading level books will probably give you words you are unfamiliar with, write these word down on the side and look up their definition later. Then use the words in your writing, if you don’t read, dictionary websites and apps have a word of the day that can give you new words to use in your writing.

There are countless more reasons to write everyday, but these are some that I thought were important or interesting. Just writing this post makes me want to go and write some more in my journal. But overall, all I can say is that this is a really enjoyable activity and once you get into it and it will benefit you in so many ways.

Dealing With A Bad Day

We all have those days where we are having a bad time from the start. If you don’t, you a either really lucky or super positive. Usually for me, bad days start from bad mornings, but actually from there they get better and better for me until by the end of the day I am no longer in a bad mood. But that’s just me, for some people their bad day may last for the whole day. I think that the reason my bad days don’t last for the whole day is because there are always times in my day that make me smile or laugh no matter what. Sometimes the fact that I’m having a bad day makes me laugh, it’s probably because I realize that its ridiculous that I would think that my day is ruined because of a few unfortunate moments or events. When I have a bad day, I always realize that it is not helping that I continue to be mad or feel unmotivated for the day and that it can get better. This realization comes after I that first smile or laugh of the day, I also remember that there is tomorrow and looking forward to it makes me more optimistic about the day.

There are many other ways to cope with a bad day that work for some people but not others, so trying multiple methods would be best to help with a bad day. The number one thing to dealing with a bad day is thinking positively, you can’t feel any better or get out of a bad day if your mindset is wrong. Finding something to distract you is a good way to forget you’re having a bad day, find something relaxing to do like reading a good book. Sometimes, talking to a cheerful person can also help, someone in a good mood will probably put you into a good mood also. Taking a walk is a great way to deal with a bad day, it’s like an escape from the bad day and you can think about and reflect on your life while on this walk. Eating your favorite foods or listening to your favorite music will definitely help with a bad day because you will be enjoying some of your favorite things, if you’re not enjoying these things they’re probably not your favorites. Taking a relaxing bath or shower can help also, you’ll feel refreshed like you can start your day anew. Remembering happy memories can help you with a bad day and keep you from any pessimistic thoughts. These are other methods to deal with a bad day that other people may use. If none of these methods work then you’re probably having a really bad day, at that point you might as well just sleep off the rest of the day and hope for a better tomorrow.

Watching this video may also help.

I got the idea to write a post on bad days because of this post http://theaverageadolescence.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/having-a-bad-day/

Are We Too Dependent On Technology?

Although your opinion may be different, I believe that today as a society, we are far too dependent on technology. I am guilty of this, I use my smartphone and laptop everyday, but most people in society do this as well. People these days, especially teenagers, seem to be absolutely glued to their phones, although trend is also becoming more popular with kids and adults also. Even you the reader are dependent on technology to some extent, I mean you are using some form of it to read this blog right now. We are so dependent on technology that we use it to communicate, set-up schedules, create reminders, use it for research, and literally thousands of other things. (Just way too many to put in a list.) But these technologies not only range from phones and computers, but also more practical things that we are dependent on like microwaves, washing machines, and other advanced household appliances. Who doesn’t use their microwave at least once a day!

Although I agree that yes we are dependent on technology, I fail to see how our dependence of this technology is necessarily a bad thing. In reality I don’t see us losing this technology anytime soon and even if we did, we will do what humans have done for thousands of years, we would adapt and survive. (Even though life would suck.)  Still, this technology addiction does have certain negative effects on society. Because of our over-usage of smartphones, people are less social in real life, people are getting less exercise, and traffic accidents have been caused by distractions from phones. But these are choices made by the people who use this technology and not everyone is addicted to technology. A large majority is but I don’t see an issue with a technologically driven society, because it is the people’s choice to talk online rather than in real life and the good from technology like the ability to communicate with a global conversation, technologies use in saving lives in advanced machines, and the fact that technology makes the world a smaller place that gives more opportunities to people than in any other time period makes technology’s good outweigh the bad. Here are some articles and videos I used to form my opinion that can help you form your own or give you more information to update your opinion.

http://highlandstoday.com/hi/list/highlands-today-emily-little/too-dependent-on-technology-20140122/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/technology-dependence/

http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Are-we-too-dependent-on-Technology-20130121

There’s a little explicit language on that last one, watch at your own discretion.

Motivation: Finding Yourself

Sometimes finding motivation to do something can be a difficult task. I always find myself questioning why I do the things I do and make the choices I make. Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving a certain.